In a bold maneuver that sent ripples through the Capitol on Monday, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) began naming the names many in leadership would likely prefer stayed buried. Wielding the results of a high-stakes subpoena, the South Carolina Republican launched into a public accounting of taxpayer-funded settlements tied to sexual harassment allegations against sitting and former lawmakers.
“The files are out,” Mace declared in a pointed dispatch on X, stripping away the traditional veneer of legislative secrecy. “Our subpoena has uncovered settlements totaling $338,000 from Congress’s sexual harassment slush fund.”
The revelation paints a damning picture of a system Mace suggests was designed for self-preservation. According to her findings, the paper trail is intentionally thin: records predating 2004 have been destroyed, leaving a multi-decade black hole in the public record. Mace didn’t stop at the ledger, however; she took aim at her own colleagues, noting that 357 members of Congress previously voted to keep these details shielded from public view.
“Nine members named,” Mace posted, positioning herself at the vanguard of a transparency movement. “We’re leading the charge to release them despite their opposition.”
True to her word, the Congresswoman proceeded to publish a list of specific names alongside their corresponding settlement amounts. Yet, while the dollar signs and identities were laid bare, the underlying narratives remained in the shadows. Mace offered no additional context for the settlements, leaving the public to grapple with the raw figures of a “slush fund” finally meeting the light of day.
The files are out.
Our subpoena has uncovered settlements totaling $338,000 from Congress’s sexual harassment slush fund.
Nine members named. Records before 2004 – destroyed.
357 members of Congress voted to keep it hidden. We’re leading the charge to release them despite… pic.twitter.com/C7GJEIVwVB
— Nancy Mace (@NancyMace) May 4, 2026
The itemized ledger Mace released reads like a timeline of quiet exits and financial closures. The list begins in 2007 with Rodney Alexander ($15,000) and continues through 2009 with the Office of Carolyn McCarthy, where two cases were bundled into a single $8,000 settlement. The year 2010 appears particularly active, documenting three separate payouts involving Eric Massa ($85,000, $20,000, and $10,000) and a $50,000 settlement for John Conyers.
The list rounds out with Blake Farenthold ($84,000 in 2014), a $27,111.75 severance payment for Conyers that same year, and a 2017 settlement for Patrick Meehan, which disguised a two-case resolution as $39,250 in “severance pay.”
This public shaming is the culmination of a crusade Mace launched in February, when she first demanded the House Ethics Committee strip the veil from all member allegations. “If you sexually harass someone in Congress, you do not get to hide behind closed doors,” she asserted at the time. Her rhetoric then was uncompromising: “The American people deserve answers. Staff deserve answers. Women deserve answers. No more protection for predators in Congress.”
That initial effort was stonewalled. By April, Mace was lambasting a resolution that she claimed was “killed by 357 members on both sides of the aisle to protect themselves and their friends.” Undeterred, she bypassed her colleagues in March by issuing a subpoena to the Office of Congressional Workplace Rights (OCWR), demanding all records of awards and settlements paid out for member misconduct prior to December 2018.
“For too long, Congress has swept this under the rug, protecting predators at the expense of victims and taxpayers,” Mace said. “The American people have unknowingly been paying for this cover-up… we will not rest until these names are released and every predator in Congress has no other choice but to resign.”
However, the scope of these payouts remains a point of contention. A CNN analysis pointed out that the OCWR handles a broad spectrum of workplace grievances, not just sexual harassment. Data shows that between 1996 and 2018, 349 settlements were approved—80 of which involved legislative offices—but only seven specifically addressed sexual harassment claims.
Furthermore, the legal language often framed these payouts as a matter of fiscal pragmatism rather than an admission of guilt, citing a desire “to avoid the inconvenience of protracted litigation and the expense to the parties and the taxpayers.” While the Treasury Department account once used to bankroll these deals is now defunct, CNN also noted a crucial detail: none of the individuals named in Mace’s recent disclosure are currently serving in Congress.